Aquatics Blog

Aquatics Blog

Lifeguard Positioning

To have safe pools and successful lifeguards, aquatic directors must commit to giving their staff the tools they need to succeed.  We at The Redwoods Group have conducted investigations into over 100 aquatic incidents and found six common contributing factors.   The most common of these contributing factors is improper guard placement.  I frequently ask aquatic directors how they selected the positions for their lifeguards and the answers often surprise me.  They range from “that is where the contractor put them” to “that is the only spot where they can see the entire pool.”  Improper guard placement can lead to a number of failures:  lack of line of sight due to obstructions, poor visibility due to glare, and inability of bottom detection due to a zone which is too large.   Consider the following when choosing lifeguard positions:Can the guards see the entire bottom of the pool in their zone in 10 seconds?Can they reach all victims at all times within 10 seconds? There is actually a logical method for determining proper guard placement.  It is called Zone Validation and Documentation.  First draw pictures of your pool and make multiple copies.  Shade the zone of coverage for each lifeguard and identify their positions.  Place silhouettes (or a towel with a 10 lb weight) in multiple locations on the bottom of the pool within each zone.  Climb into the lifeguard chair or stand in the lifeguard’s assigned position.  Ask, “Can the guard see the silhouette?”  Mark the location on the drawing of the pool and whether or not the silhouette was visible.  Create a drawing for different times of the day and for each month of the year.  Adjust the lifeguard positions or number of lifeguards until the entire bottom of the pool is visible.  This documentation should be stored for future reference in the event of an aquatic incident.  Next, use a stopwatch to time all lifeguards from the lifeguard chair or deck position to the furthest point in each designated zone.  Can the guard make it to the furthest point in the zone with 5 swimmers in the water?  How about with 35 swimmers in the water? As the number of bathers increases it will determine the ability of the lifeguard to get from point A to point B.   Finally, let’s talk about lifeguard chairs.  Remember, first and foremost, no flexible plastic chairs should be used as lifeguard chairs.  Place official lifeguard chairs at the pool’s edge, not against the wall.  The seat height should be appropriate to the depth of the water being guarded.  I too often find a 6 foot tall chair in 3 feet or less of water.  When is the last time the aquatic staff practiced entry into the water from the lifeguard chair?  Entries should be performed on a regular basis so the staff are comfortable and know the appropriate entry for the depth of water.  How many times has your lifeguard staff been injured trying to get out of the tall lifeguard chair quickly?  Lifeguard chairs should also be placed so the lifeguards do not have to turn their heads more than 180 degrees to see their zone of coverage.  If possible, the ideal positioning is to put lifeguard chairs on the corner giving the lifeguards a maximum 90 degree angle of scanning.   No lifeguard chair position is perfect under every circumstance, so we must teach our staff to patrol or aggressively search the water when obstacles prevent seeing the bottom of the pool or as part of their normal lifeguarding routine.

 

Posted: Dec 01 2008, 08:13 PM by Ttrammell | with 4 comment(s)
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Comments

Peg L said:

Excellent topic and great, USEFUL ideas. Incorporate these into an in-service to help impress on staff importance of positioning! Thanks!

# December 5, 2008 3:01 PM

Gerald M. Dworkin said:

Lifeguards need to be strategically positioned and must be able to adhere to the 30 SECOND RULE in combination with the 10/20 RULE.  The 30 SECOND RULE requires the lifeguard to completely scan his/her zone of responsibility from one extreme to the other and back within a maximum of 30 seconds.  The 10/20 RULE requires the lifeguard to determine whether or not intervention is required within 10 seconds, and the lifeguard must be able to then intervene within a maximum of 20 seconds.  Therefore, the use of these two Rules will help to determine the positioning of lifeguard personnel.

# December 9, 2008 2:26 PM

Matt Markey said:

All of the points that have been made are excellent.  I would encourage everyone to not do the Zone Validation study alone, involve all lifeguard staff as an addition to regular in-service training.  When lifeguard staff are engaged in the process it reinforces the scanning points that we most often struggle with.  If their is a point of the pool that can not be seen because of glare, reflection, refraction staff are forced to adjust their actions to be certain that all areas of the pool can be seen.  This can be done without expensive sihouttes, I have used large rubber coated washers to section off zones of the pool.  Guards must adjust their scanning or observation patterns to see each washer at a minimum of every 30 seconds.  

Give it a try and see what happens.  If nothing else you will very quickly identify what staff really get it, and at the same time complete the Zone validation study.

# December 23, 2008 2:51 PM

Andrew Vaughan said:

I am so glad i came across this blog. I am going to link to it from my blog as it has articles that are very close to my heart.

Andrew

waterparkleadership.blogspot.com

# March 9, 2009 12:39 PM
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